Path of Exile: Ultimate Flask Guide
01.06.2024 - 15:12:35
Game Guides , Path of Exile , POE Gameplay Guides
Path of Exile is an incredibly awesome and fun game with very complex mechanics, unlike its counterparts. For instance, flasks play a major role in every build in the game, not just for the sake of survival, but also for making certain things possible.
If you are looking for a comprehensive resource about flasks in the game, then you have come to the right place! This is our ultimate guide to flasks in Path of Exile!
What Are Flasks?
Before anything, we must first provide a definition of the topic we are going to talk about today. Flasks in Path of Exile are potions that do a number of things; from recovering your life or mana per use to granting certain bonuses that last for a duration.
You can "recharge" flasks by simply killing monsters in the game (aka Flask Charges). Normal monsters grant the lowest flask charges, while the rare or unique enemies give you the highest amount. If you move fast and kill enemies quickly, you should not run into problems with your flask charges whatsoever.
Flasks are a crucial part of any build in Path of Exile. Life Flasks and Mana Flasks will help you recover your HP and mana as you finish PoE's main campaign. Utility flasks provide you with certain bonuses, including increased armor, evasion, movement speed, and elemental resistances, among others.
There are also unique flasks that have effects that are already set in stone. Do not worry, the different types of flasks will be discussed in greater detail in the next section.
Types of Flasks
There are several types of flasks in Path of Exile that you need to know about. They are:
Life Flasks
The Life Flask recovers a portion of your life on every use. Take note that the vast majority of Life Flasks provide life recovery over time, meaning, your HP will gradually increase during the flask's effect.
The only way for you to force a Life Flask to grant you immediate HP restoration is when it has certain prefixes on it, such as Bubbling, Seething, or Panicked.
In addition, Life Flasks cannot be automated using bench-crafted modifiers, so you have to manually press them when you need to recover your HP.
Mana Flasks
Your character has two default resources that get used up as you get hit or use certain skills. The first is, of course, Life (or HP), and the second is mana. Mana is the resource you spend whenever you use your skills.
As you can tell by the name, a Mana Flask is a rechargeable potion that replenishes your mana over a short period of time. The flask charges consumed upon use depend on the the level of the Mana Flask itself.
For example, a Hallowed Mana Flask (level 42) consumes only six charges per use. On the other hand, the Eternal Mana Flask requires eight charges per use.
In Path of Exile, Mana Flasks are typically only used in the campaign. As soon as you have access to better gear that can address any mana issues you may have had before, you can drop the Mana Flask entirely.
Hybrid Flasks
While not as popular as the other two recovery flasks, Hybrid Flasks still provide value as you are trying to complete the whole 10 acts of the game.
Hybrid Flasks recover both your life and mana when used. However, they do so by consuming quite a lot of flask charges.
For instance, the Hallowed Hybrid Flask consumes 20 (out of 40) flask charges on use. Now you understand why it is the least popular among the recovery flasks in PoE.
Be that as it may, you could definitely use Hybrid Flasks if you want an all-in-one solution.
Utility Flasks
This next type of flask is the most widely used in the game primarily because it grants bonuses that make any build shine.
Utility Flasks, unlike the aforementioned flasks, are those that give you temporary buffs when used. There are a plethora of Utility Flasks in the game, but here is a list of the most popular ones and what they can do:
- Amethyst Flask
- +35% to Chaos Resistance
- Bismuth Flask
- +35% to All Elemental Resistances
- Basalt Flask
- 20% More Armor
- Diamond Flask
- 100% Increased Global Critical Strike Chance
- Granite Flask
- +1500 to Armor
- Jade Flask
- +1500 to Evasion Rating
- Quartz Flask
- Phasing
- +10% Chance to Suppress Spell Damage
- Quicksilver Flask
- 40% Increased Movement Speed
- Ruby Flask
- +40% to Fire Resistance
- +5% to Maximum Fire Resistance
- Sapphire Flask
- +40% to Cold Resistance
- +5% to Maximum Cold Resistance
- Silver Flask
- Onslaught
- Stibnite Flask
- 20% More Evasion Rating
- Sulphur Flask
- 40% Increased Damag
- Topaz Flask
- +40% to Lightning Resistance
- +5% to Maximum Lightning Resistance
Unique Flasks
Just like unique items in Path of Exile, the game has a myriad of Unique Flasks that come with predetermined effects. These effects cannot be altered using a Chaos Orb or Orb of Scouring, though you can change the mod values by spamming Divine Orbs until you achieve the desired result.
Another thing that you need to keep in mind is that Unique Flasks also grant the buffs of their base counterparts. The Progenesis grants you +35% chaos resistance (in addition to its unique effects) because it has the Amethyst Flask as the base.
Aside from that, most of the Unique Flasks in PoE can be acquired just by killing monsters. But, there are also those that can only be acquired from specific enemies.
The Bottled Faith, for example, is a unique flask that can only drop by defeating High Templar Venarius in the Cortex Map.
What Are Flask Mods?
Flask mods grant additional bonuses that work on top of what a certain flask already provides. Most of the ones used by players are Magic Flasks that can have a prefix and a suffix, which are denoted by blue text on their names. Unlike Unique Flasks which already come with predetermined modifiers, the mods on Magic Flasks can be rerolled as many times as needed.
The prefixes often pertain to flask charges, duration, and flask effect. On the other hand, suffixes are associated with boons, such as freeze immunity, increased crit chance, attack/cast speed boost, etc.
Now, there are several PoE Currencies that you need to be acquainted with when talking about flask mods. The Glassblower's Bauble increases the flask's quality to 20%, which translates to more life/mana recovered (Life/Mana Flask) or longer flask duration (Utility Flasks).
The Orb of Transmutation transforms a flask of normal rarity into one with a magic rarity. This is typically used after an Orb of Scouring since the said currency removes all modifiers on the flask itself.
The most crucial PoE Currency when rolling flask mods is the Orb of Alteration. This orb allows you to roll a random set of modifiers when used on a Magic Flask. In some instances, you will get only a prefix or a suffix. Occasionally, you do get both.
If you already have one affix sorted out, you could add one more by using an Orb of Augmentation. This comes in handy when you want a "25% Increased Effect" prefix and a "17% Increased Attack Speed" suffix on your Magic Quicksilver Flask, for example.
You can find the best prefixes in the game below, as well as a brief description of each one:
Best Flask Prefixes
Seething
If you can remember what we said earlier in the guide, Life Flasks recover your HP gradually; usually over a period of several seconds. In a fast-paced game like Path of Exile, that can literally mean life or death.
So, if you need HP immediately, you should roll your Life Flask until you get the "Seething" prefix. This particular flask mod allows you to recover HP as soon as you use your flask.
While it is indeed useful, particularly in tough situations, the Seething prefix does reduce the amount recovered by your Life Flask by 66%. That is why it is best that you have some form of Life Leech to supplement what a Seething Life Flask can give.
Panicked/Bubbling
For many of the game's expansions, most PoE players used Life Flasks with the "Seething" prefix as a way to make their characters last longer while mapping or bossing. However, that huge 66% reduced life recovery is just too significant for some. Fortunately, there are good alternatives.
The prefix "Panicked" is great. When you are hit by a devastating attack and your HP goes below 50% of the maximum, using a Life Flask with this mod instantly recovers it, with only an 11% reduction.
If you want a flask mod that sits somewhere in the middle of "Seething" and "Panicked" in terms of what it can do, then you might be interested in getting the "Bubbling" prefix. This mod instantly recovers 50% of the flask's total life recovery. If you have utilized a Divine Life Flask (which recovers 2,400 HP), then you receive 1,200 HP regardless of your current life.
The other 50% life recovery is applied the same way as a regular Life Flask, albeit at a much faster rate (thanks to that 135% increased recovery rate). The only reason why you wouldn't prefer this mod over a Life Flask with a "Panicked" prefix is that the total amount recovered is reduced by up to 39%.
So really, it is up to you which one works best for your character.
Enduring
Life and mana flasks in PoE have their recovery effects removed if your unreserved life or mana are filled. Let's say that you have received 1,000 damage from the enemy and you have used a Life Flask that recovers 1,200 HP over three seconds, that remaining 200 HP will be lost as soon as your life is fully recovered. The same principle applies to Mana Flasks as well.
Having said that, do you want your Mana Flask to provide you with a steady supply even if your unreserved mana is already filled? If so, you have the "Enduring" prefix for that.
The only downside to the Enduring Mana Flask is that the mod reduces the amount of mana you can recover during the flask's effect. If you are fine with this, the "Enduring" prefix is very useful, especially if you are running builds that often get starved for mana.
Flagellant
There are many benefits to playing a tanky build - one of which is getting flask charges even though you are not attacking. This is possible if you get the "Flagellant" prefix on your flask. This has actually been nerfed in that it used to provide you with nine flask charges when you are hit by the enemy (now, it is only set to three).
Despite the nerf, builds that are able to withstand numerous hits will find great value from this mod for sure! It is worth noting that this mod, as well as the other prefixes below, can only roll on Utility Flasks.
Surgeon
Does your character have a very high chance of landing critical hits? Then the "Surgeon" prefix is ideal for you! This mod grants you up to a 35% chance to gain a flask charge when you deal a critical strike.
Builds with naturally high crit chance like the Lightning Arrow or Tornado Shot Deadeye will certainly love this flask mod. Besides that, those who wear the Headhunter will find this quite beneficial as well.
Abecedarian/Alchemist/Dabbler
These are three separate prefixes but they are all lumped together because you only want the "25% Increased Effect" that they provide. If you are wondering what they are best used for, they are ideal if you have the Mageblood equipped.
For the uninitiated, the Mageblood is a unique belt that grants you the effects of up to four Magic Utility Flasks indefinitely. That said, since your Magic Utility Flasks do not expire with the Mageblood on, improving the flask effect just makes sense.
Best Flask Suffixes
Of the Cheetah
Do you want to move around the map as quickly as you can? This particular flask mod grants you up to a 14% increase in movement speed. This is one of the most common mods you can find, particularly for those who use a Headhunter or a Mageblood.
Of Assuaging
Bleeding and Corrupted Blood are debuffs that have the ability to kill your character in a jiffy. Unless you have a jewel that grants immunity to Corrupted Blood, you might want to include a flask with the "of Assuaging" suffix to help you get by.
This suffix makes you immune to the said conditions, thus making you survive longer. Although this mod can be rolled on Utility Flasks, it is usually put on the Life Flask probably as a means of recovering the HP that you may have lost when you were affected by Bleeding and Corrupted Blood.
Of the Impala
DEX-based classes like the Ranger, Shadow, and Duelist will find the next flask mod particularly useful. Such characters rely heavily on high amounts of evasion to dodge most of the enemy's attacks.
"Of the Impala" is a suffix that grants a 60% increase in evasion. This works best if you have multiple evasion-based gear equipped.
Of the Armadillo
Builds that rely on huge amounts of armor to mitigate physical damage (the Boneshatter Juggernaut comes to mind) can certainly make great use of the flask mod, "Of the Armadillo."
The said suffix grants a huge 60% increase in armor. When you are going for this flask mod, make sure that your gear contains pure armor for maximum gains (though wearing hybrid pieces of gear with Armor/Energy Shield or Armor/Evasion is not bad).
Of the Rainbow
Developer Grinding Gear Games has nerfed this next flask mod in Patch 3.24, but it is still valuable despite the change. Back then, the suffix "Of the Rainbow" used to provide 40% additional elemental resistances during the flask effect. But now, that number has been reduced to 20%.
Even though that is indeed a sizable decrease from the original number, this flask mod is still quite helpful, especially for those who have the Mageblood equipped (with all of the "% Increased Effect" modifiers to boot).
Of Incision
Do you struggle to land a critical hit on the enemy? The good news is that there are a lot of things you can employ in this game to help you address that - one of which is by using a Utility Flask with the "Of Incision" suffix.
This flask mod grants up to a 55% increase in critical strike chance during effect. This, along with other similar mods on your gear and passive tree, ensures that you have a crit chance high enough to make quick work of the enemy.
Of the Dove
One of the ways you can effectively kill enemies in Path of Exile is to hit them with multiple attacks in quick succession. To aid you in that aspect, you can roll a Magic Utility Flask using the Orb of Alteration until you get the suffix, "Of the Dove."
This provides you with a 17% increased attack speed when using the flask that has this particular mod. So whether you are running the Toxic Rain Pathfinder or the EA Ballista Champion, the "Of the Dove" flask suffix really helps.
Of the Horsefly
GGG is very particular when it comes to the mods on items and gear. For instance, attack speed only affects the quickness of attack skill gems. So, if you are using a spell skill gem like Spark, you need cast speed for that.
Fortunately, there is a flask mod that increases your cast speed by 17% and that is the suffix, "Of the Horsefly."
Of Bog Moss
Elemental ailments are a nasty set of debuffs that you may occasionally experience when fighting monsters in the game. These include Chill, Freeze, Shock, Ignite, Brittle, Sap, and Scorch. The first four are problematic, but the latter three are equally annoying to deal with as well.
While you are immune to these ailments by activating Purity of Elements, you might not have enough gem sockets to fit it in, let alone sufficient mana to activate it.
Well, there is another way to solve the problem of elemental ailments in PoE and that is by using the Stormshroud. This is a unique jewel that makes modifiers to shock avoidance also apply to all elemental ailments. In other words, if you have achieved a 100% chance to avoid being shocked, you will gain a 100% chance to avoid all elemental ailments.
Although there are multiple ways you can increase your shock avoidance, nothing can beat a flask that has the "of Bog Moss" suffix. That is because this grants a 55% chance to avoid being shocked.
If you wear the Mageblood that is complete with 95% increased effect modifiers, you will have more than enough shock avoidance to take full advantage of the Stormshroud!
Of the Owl
Path of Exile has plenty of curse spells that you can use at your disposal. However, the same curses can also be applied to you by the enemy. Being afflicted with Elemental Weakness when fighting against enemies that deal elemental damage, for example, is not a fun time at all!
Sure, you can address that by taking certain notable passive skills but that would require you to spend your limited number of points, which might not be feasible for the build that you want to run.
If you want to significantly reduce the effect of curses on you, then be sure to put the flask mod, "of the Owl," on one of your flasks. With this one, you gain a huge 65% reduced effect of curses during the flask's effect.
Of Warding
The previous flask mod may reduce the effect of curses on you, but what if you just want to remove them outright? Well, you have the suffix "of Warding" for that. When you utilize a flask with this particular mod, you do not have to worry about anything that reduces your resistance to the elements or whatnot.
Of the Order
This last suffix is actually a collection of several mods that you can apply using your Crafting Bench. These modifiers are:
- (20-30)% Increased Rarity of Items Found During Effect
- Regenerate 3% of Life per Second During Effect
- 15% of Damage Taken from Hits is Leeched as Life During Effect
- 50% Chance to Avoid Being Stunned During Effect
- (60-80%) Reduced Reflected Damage Taken During Effect
When you put any of these mods on a Magic Utility Flask, the resulting flask will have the suffix "of the Order" at the end of its name.
Now, where do you get any of the modifiers mentioned above? The only way for you to get them is to unveil a Cinderswallow Urn, which can be dropped by defeating Catarina, Master of Undeath. She is the boss you encounter after
completing the Betrayal mechanic in PoE.
In Patch 3.24, GGG removed the "25% Reduced Mana Cost of Skills During Flask Effect" modifier from the Cinderswallow Urn. This means that you can no longer obtain the said mod so you can apply it on your Magic Utility Flasks, so you have to get mana cost reduction somewhere else.
Best Magic Flasks
With all of the basics covered, it is now time to talk about the best Magic Flasks to use in Path of Exile. By "Magic Flasks," we actually refer to flasks that have a blue name on them. As we have mentioned earlier, they can roll with one prefix and a suffix, which you can change by using the Orb of Alteration and Orb of Augmentation.
So, which Magic Flasks should you include in your setup? Here are our top picks:
Divine Life Flask
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img1]( https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img1.png)
The Divine Life Flask is the most popular Life Flask in Path of Exile. Unlike the Eternal Life Flask, which can be utilized from level 65 onwards, the Divine Life Flask recovers more HP and has a slightly longer duration for a level 60 flask.
Eternal Mana Flask
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img2]( https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img2.png)
The vast majority of builds in the game do not rely on Mana Flasks anymore, particularly when they already have their mana cost issues addressed with better gear. However, if you still struggle to maintain mana, then the Eternal Mana Flask should have you topped up without a problem.
This thing enables you to recover 1,800 points of mana over a span of seven seconds. Now, most of your mana is "reserved" by your buffs and auras, meaning, you only have a small percentage left for your more active skills.
If you recall, mana recovery from flasks is removed the moment it fills up your unreserved mana. Since you are only left with a small amount to work with, you need to roll the "Enduring" prefix on the Eternal Mana Flask so that its recovery effect is not removed once the said condition is met.
Quicksilver Flask
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img3](https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img3.png)
If you have seen other players bragging about how fast they could complete maps, they are almost always running characters with the Quicksilver Flask enabled.
The Quicksilver Flask is one of the most popular Utility Flasks in the game due to the fact that it boosts your movement speed by 40% when used.
While wearing the Mageblood, make sure to put "% Increased Effect" modifiers on a Quicksilver Flask to maximize its value.
Granite Flask
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img4]( https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img4.png)
When talking about Magic Utility Flasks that boost defensive layers, there are those that provide a flat increase and some that give a percentage. The Granite Flask is a good example of the former as it grants you 1,500 flat armor when used.
The reason why the Granite Flask is more popular than the Basalt Flask (which is an example of flasks that provide a percentage boost) is that a flat amount can be greatly enhanced by "% Increased Armor" modifiers on gear and passive skills.
This is not to say that the Basalt Flask does not deserve a spot in your flask setup, but this is just to emphasize that if you only have limited slots, you should opt for the Granite Flask instead.
Jade Flask
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img5]( https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img5.png)
Primarily used by DEX-based classes like the Ranger, Shadow, and Duelist, the Jade Flask provides a flat 1,500 increase to evasion rating when utilized.
Aside from that, allocating the "Iron Reflexes" keystone passive lets you convert all of your evasion to armor. This is the reason why you also see the Jade Flask being used by armor-stacking builds in PoE.
For the same reasons above (Read: Granite Flask), the Jade Flask is more useful than the Stibnite Flask, most notably if you have "% Increased Evasion" modifiers on your equipment.
Amethyst Flask
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img6](https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img6.png)
As you progress through the game, you will encounter more and more monsters that are capable of dealing chaos damage to you. This damage type is quite problematic because it naturally bypasses energy shield, thus reducing your life (or mana) immediately after taking a hit.
Is there a way to mitigate chaos damage? Well, there is and that is by improving your chaos resistance. A good way to do that is by using an Amethyst Flask, which grants you +35% to chaos resistance for a brief period.
Of course, you have to get more chaos resistance from your gear, but the Amethyst Flask is an inexpensive and easy way to reduce the chaos damage you take.
Topaz Flask
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img7](https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img7.png)
Utility Flasks that grant elemental resistances have received adjustments in Patch 3.24. Take the Topaz Flask, for example. Previously, this thing reduced the lightning damage you take by 20% during the flask's effect. However, this has now been changed to "+5% to Maximum Lightning Resistance." Is the change bad or not? Well, we wouldn't say it is bad; more like well-balanced.
You see, resistances in PoE are capped at 75% unless you invest in modifiers that grant "+ to Maximum Resistances." The 5% increase in Maximum Lightning Resistance provided by the Topaz Flask is a great way to mitigate devastating lightning-based attacks or spells as early as level 18. This is the time when you can put the Topaz Flask on your belt for use at any time.
Take note that if you roll this flask with modifiers using the different PoE Currencies that have been talked about earlier, the level requirement of this flask changes as a result.
Why is the Topaz Flask more popular than its counterparts, the Ruby Flask and Sapphire Flask? The main reason is due to the Lightning Coil - a unique body armor that converts 50% of physical damage from hits to lightning damage.
While the Lightning Coil is useful in terms of improving your survivability, it has a nasty downside where your lightning resistance is reduced significantly (about -60% to be exact). Hence, you see people using the Topaz Flask to resolve this issue.
Bismuth Flask
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img8](https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img8.png)
Capping your elemental resistances to 75% is of top priority in PoE and you need to do that as soon as you can. That is because as you go to the later acts (and ultimately arrive at mapping once you've finished the campaign), you are going to encounter enemies that deal elemental damage rather than physical damage.
Elemental resistances like fire resistance, lightning resistance, and cold resistance have to be capped in order for you to survive. The good news is that the Bismuth Flask is available in the game specifically for that purpose.
The Bismuth Flask is typically used to address the huge reduction in elemental resistances when utilizing unique items like the Melding of the Flesh or Thread of Hope. However, the value that this particular flask provides is immeasurable, especially if you are struggling to cap your elemental resistances purely from gear alone.
Best Unique Flasks
In the game's main campaign up to the point that you start crushing maps in Path of Exile, your flask setup is typically composed of several Magic Utility Flasks coupled with a single Life Flask (or Mana Flask if you are having trouble sustaining mana for your skills).
Once you are able to survive on the battlefield with Life and Mana Leech alone, you can forgo the Life Flask or Mana Flask in favor of Unique Flasks. That said, here are the ones that we recommend:
Dying Sun
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img9](https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img9.png)
Do you play any projectile-based builds in the game? If so, you will find the Dying Sun to be an invaluable addition to your flask setup.
This unique flask enables you to fire two additional projectiles, which is actually awesome if you chose the Deadeye ascendancy class for its access to the "Endless Munitions" notable passive skill.
Builds that utilize the Toxic Rain skill gem can benefit from the Dying Sun as well. That is because this flask increases the area of effect of skills by up to 20%. In the case of Toxic Rain, the Spore Pods cover a much wider area thanks to this particular effect.
Taste of Hate
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img10](https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img10.png)
The Taste of Hate is one of the most popular Unique Flasks in the game. Why is that, you ask? Well, this Sapphire Flask has a distinct effect that serves both offensive and defensive purposes.
For one, every time you use the Taste of Hate, up to 15% of physical damage from hits is taken as cold damage. This is pretty useful if you have the Transcendence keystone passive allocated, where armor mitigates elemental damage as opposed to physical damage. This flask provides a convenient way to convert a sizable portion of physical damage you receive from monster attacks to elemental damage.
On top of that, the Taste of Hate gives you extra cold damage based on 15% of your physical damage. This might not seem much on the surface, but you have to realize that this is factored on top of the damage that you deal with your main skill, thus giving your attacks or spells more oomph in the process.
The 30% chance to avoid being Chilled or Frozen is just an added bonus yet a welcome addition nevertheless.
Atziri's Promise
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img11](https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img11.png)
Since we are on the topic of gaining extra damage, another flask that you can look into that does the same thing is Atziri's Promise.
Whenever you press Atziri's Promise, you will gain up to 16% of extra chaos damage based on your physical and/or elemental damage (8% from each) for a limited time.
Additionally, you'll be able to get some life back due to the inherent life leech granted by this unique flask. Although it only leeches life based on 2% of the chaos damage you deal, that is still pretty awesome because it can work in conjunction with your other Life Leech modifiers.
Atziri's Promise can only be obtained by defeating Atziri, Queen of the Vaal. You will encounter her in the Temple of Atzoatl (Throne of Atziri) or from The Apex of Sacrifice. You can access the latter by putting the four "Sacrifice Fragments" into your Map Device, including Sacrifice at Dusk, Sacrifice at Dawn, Sacrifice at Noon, and Sacrifice at Midnight.
Coruscating Elixir
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img12](https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img12.png)
Chaos damage is dangerous, especially for builds that rely on energy shield as their main defensive layer. That is because this type of damage naturally bypasses energy shield, thus directly reducing Life (and mana if you have Mind Over Matter allocated).
The Coruscating Elixir is a godsend for such builds because this forces chaos damage to not bypass energy shield as it normally would. Although it reduces your HP to one during the flask's effect, the amount of life you have lost this way is regenerated as energy shield over a period of two seconds.
If you have a ton of energy shield to work with, then be sure to find a way to incorporate the Coruscating Elixir in your flask setup.
Oriath's End
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img13](https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img13.png)
A considerable portion of builds in Path of Exile often deal elemental damage rather than physical damage (that is due to the better damage scaling with gear).
That said, Oriath's End is a unique flask that is great for those who want to improve their map-clearing speed. This thing gives you the ability to make enemies explode on kill, dealing a small amount of their HP as damage of a random element.
The part that says "random element" chooses fire, cold, and lightning damage at random, which is why this flask is only fit for builds that use elemental-based skills.
The Oriath's End is an incredibly rare flask that can only drop by defeating the Uber Sirus. If you do not have the capability of defeating such a hard boss, then perhaps saving up some PoE Currency is the way to go.
Divination Distillate
![path_of_exile_ultimate_flask_guide_img14](https://rpgstash-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/Image_2024-06-05_path-of-exile-ultimate-flask-guide-img14.png)
A staple among Magic Find builds in PoE, the Divination Distillate is an incredible way to improve your chances of obtaining rare drops, such as the Headhunter, Mageblood, and certain Divination Cards, among other things.
This is a Large Hybrid Flask that, when used, recovers a small amount of life and mana over a five-second window. The reason why it is important to mention this is that the flask's unique effect ends if it is not actively recovering your life and/or mana.
Thankfully, there are some ways you can circumvent this. The most popular is by activating Petrified Blood. This is a buff that reserves half of your HP to "protect" yourself from hits that would otherwise kill you in one swing.
Another way to keep Divination Distillate's effect active for longer periods of time requires you to use any of the Ranger's ascendancy classes, most notably the Pathfinder. That is because the Pathfinder has access to the "Master Surgeon" node, which makes the effects of Life Flasks linger even after your unreserved life is filled.
If you opt for the Deadeye or the Raider, you can still gain access to Master Surgeon by getting the Forbidden Flame and Forbidden Flesh jewels with the said node as the matching modifier.
Bottled Faith
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The Bottled Faith is a very popular unique flask in Path of Exile and it is not difficult to understand why. Heck, this flask is so famous that even those who do not have the means to afford one yet will farm diligently just to get enough PoE currency to obtain it.
That being said, what does the Bottled Faith do that encourages people to get their hands on it? Well, in order for you to understand why, you have to familiarize yourself with Consecrated Ground first.
Sulphur Flasks in PoE create a Consecrated Ground when used. When you are within its area of effect, you gain increased life regeneration and reduced effect of curses. Both of these are great from a survival standpoint, but what separates the Bottled Faith from a regular Sulphur Flask is its unique effect.
Basically, the Consecrated Ground that was established after using the Bottled Faith will cause enemies that step on it to take 10% increased damage. Besides that, you gain up to 150% increased crit chance against these monsters, so long as they do not veer too far away from the Consecrated Ground.
The Bottled Faith is one of the most expensive unique flasks in the game. But, every currency spent on it is definitely worth it!
Progenesis
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If your character does not have any problems dealing huge amounts of damage, then you might want to invest in a more defensive flask instead. The Progenesis is the best unique flask in the game for this specific purpose.
This works in a similar fashion to Petrified Blood. When used, 25% of the damage you have lost from the enemy's attack is taken over a period of four seconds. This should give you ample time to recover your HP, either by using a Life Flask or from Life Leech.
The thing is, Progenesis is quite expensive, even more so than the Bottled Faith. This is understandable considering the value that this unique flask provides, as well as the fact that it can only be acquired by successfully eliminating the Uber Maven.
Be that as it may, the Progenesis is a worthy investment because you can use it pretty much the entire game (if you are able to secure one, that is).
Tips
Flasks are a huge contributing factor to your overall success in PoE. Without them, you will have a hard time surviving on the battlefield. In some cases, you cannot even have certain builds work to the best of their abilities unless you have certain flasks active.
That said, here are some of the tips that you should know pertaining to flasks in the game:
Increase Flask Quality
The Glassblower's Bauble is a PoE Currency that lets you increase the quality of flasks. That said, if you want to prevent wastage, use the Glassblower's Bauble only on flasks with normal rarity because doing so gives 5% quality compared to 2% on a Magic Flask.
Reroll Flasks When Necessary
You can change the mods that are already on a Magic Flask by using the Orb of Alteration and Orb of Augmentation. Since the modifiers that you get are completely random, do not be afraid to spend the said currencies. Only stop if you have achieved the desired outcome. The Orb of Alteration and Orb of Augmentation are pretty common anyway, so there is no need to worry about using boatloads if you have to.
How to Have Flask Charges Consistently
Flask charges can be gained by killing monsters. However, did you know that there are other ways to gain flask charges more consistently? The Pathfinder's "Nature's Adrenaline" ascendancy node provides flask charges every few seconds.
Another way of gaining flask charges consistently is by wearing The Tides of Time. This is a unique belt that has a similar effect to Nature's Adrenaline, albeit in a more convenient package that can be utilized by other ascendancy classes as well.
In addition, The Tides of Time increases the effect of any flask you use while you have this belt equipped.
Although not feasible for most builds, you could take some nodes on the passive tree if you really want to gain flask charges at a more consistent rate. Replenishing Remedies, for example, enables you to gain two charges for your Life and Mana Flasks every three seconds. Furthermore, this node increases the flask charges you gain by 15%.
Careful Conservationist is good for builds that can land critical strikes without a problem. If you want a more laid-back approach, the "Flagellant" flask mod is a great way to gain flask charges without doing anything other than getting hit by the enemy.
Automate Your Flasks
Back then, if you wanted to use any of your flasks, you would have to manually press each one of them. This is more commonly referred to as the "flask piano" simply due to the fact that you acted like a piano player when activating flasks.
Fortunately, GGG has implemented a way for you to automate the activation of your flasks and that is by utilizing the Crafting Bench.
The Crafting Bench is not only home to modifiers that you can apply on weapons and armor; it is also a place where you can put enchantments on flasks.
Now, if you want to automate your flasks, put "Used When Charges Reach Full" from the Crafting Bench. This requires you to spend five Instilling Orbs and five Glassblower's Baubles each time you avail of it.
You can opt for other enchantments as well. If you have a flask that you only want to activate when you encounter a rare or unique enemy, there is a specific enchantment for that on the Crafting Bench.
Don't Forget to Use Enkindling Orbs
The Enkindling Orb is another type of PoE Currency that allows you to apply a random enchantment to a Utility Flask. Although there are several possible outcomes that may arise from utilizing the Enkindling Orb, the most popular one is the "70% Increased Effect."
Always remember that flask enchantments from Instilling Orbs or Enkindling Orbs do not stack, meaning, the existing enchantment will be overridden if you apply a new one.
How to Take Full Advantage of the Mageblood
The Mageblood is a highly coveted "Tier 0" unique item that grants you the effects of up to four Magic Utility Flasks indefinitely. With this belt on, you do not have to worry about gaining flask charges at all. Hence, to fully utilize what Mageblood has to offer, you should get a total of 95% increased flask effect.
To achieve that, you can spam a Magic Flask with Orb of Alteration until you get the Abecedarian, Alchemist, or Dabbler prefixes. Just about any of them will do because you are only after the "25% Increased Effect" from these modifiers anyway.
The 70% increased effect can be obtained by spamming the flask with Enkindling Orbs. You might have to do this a number of times if you are unlucky. But trust us when we say that it will all be worth it!
So there you have it! We hope that you have learned something from our Ultimate Flask Guide. Be sure to bookmark this page for future reference.
With all of that said, good luck on your adventures in Wraeclast, Exile!